moon_camp

Moon Camp Explorers Gallery 2020-2021

In Moon Camp Explorers each team’s mission is to 3D design a complete Moon Camp using Tinkercad. They also have to explain how they will use local resources, protect astronauts from the dangerous of space and describe the living and working facilities.

Team: CM2 Saclay Explorers

Ecole élémentaire Joliot Curie  Saclay    France 9, 10, 11

External link for 3d

Project description

This moon base has two objectives.
The first is to continue the experiments with low gravity or no atmosphere to:

Find new treatments for diseases
Discover and manufacture new materials

The second is to prepare for the colonization of Mars by:

Validating the possibility of living on a base in an inhospitable environment
Analyzing the impact on physical health
Testing if this does not cause mutations in reproduction (experiment with rats)
Building a takeoff base for Mars

Where do you want to build your Moon Camp?

Close to the Lunar Poles

Why did you choose this location?

We chose this area because it is well known to scientists. We will be able to have access to water near the camp at basement level and glaciers on the surface in micro-craters. This location will also allow us to be closer to Earth. This will reduce travel time, take off and land with the materials needed to build the base and also bring supplies more easily.

How do you plan to build your Moon Camp? Which materials would you use?

For the construction of the base, at the beginning we will bring from the Earth prefabricated parts in addition to a 3D printer. This will help us build sufficiently reliable modules with the use of lunar material. The European Space Agency is continuing experiments on the manufacture of bricks on site, on the surface of the Moon. Good results have just been obtained with a kind of 3D printing and firing of a kind of regolith using a solar oven.

Explain how your Moon Camp will provide the astronauts with:
Water
Food
Electricity
Air

We could initially bring some from Earth. Then as nearly 600 million tons of water ice are available on the Moon, our installation near the South Pole would make it possible to extract lunar ice present in the vast and dark craters (ie Shackleton) or on the surface in micro-craters near the poles, in places not exposed to the Sun. To extract it, we would have to send a rover that can dig and install pipes.
On the base, as on the ISS, wastewater, water vapor and even urine will be recycled.

The base will receive the astronauts’ first meals and the items needed to start growing crops and growing in greenhouses: seeds, fish eggs. The laboratory will monitor the toxicity of the food.
The bio-regenerative life support system will be applied to the moon. Growing wheat, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers and strawberries will generate oxygen and remove carbon dioxide. Drinking water will be obtained by condensation. Wastewater will be treated and then reused for irrigation. The breeding of sea bass and meagre seems appropriate.

To provide energy we could first use an atomic cell (nuclear generator) that transforms the energy of atoms into heat and then quickly develop renewable energies usable on the Moon such as solar energy. We could install a belt of solar panels around the lunar equator, like a factory. We could also place solar panels on the house and create removable panels to place nearby.

To provide air to the astronauts we could use regolith, this white dust made up of rock debris that is found in the lunar soil for several centimeters. We could use the method of placing the regolith in a metal basket with molten calcium salt, which is then heated to 950 ° C and electrified, allowing it to be broken down. In this way, 96% of the oxygen migrates into the salt to be collected later.

Describe a day on the Moon for one of your Moon Camp astronauts

Professional activities

Scientists experiment and report in their field of expertise on Earth. It can cover geology, astronomy, chemistry, physics, agronomy but also medicine, biology, psychology.
In order for them to be able to do their jobs in good conditions, others need to take care of their living conditions. They are electrician, computer scientist, doctor, cook, fish farmer, farmer, osteopath, rover or shuttle pilot, waste / water treatment specialist, storekeeper.

Personal activities, toilet, meals, physical maintenance of the body, entertainment, culture

All members of the expedition keep their bodies clean and in good physical condition by exercising regularly.
All members regularly take their meals together according to different services.
Everyone devotes themselves to their favorite pastime or to their favorite cultural activity (reading, music, games, film)
Everyone can correspond with their family on earth within the time slots provided.
Everyone regularly has a physical and psychological check-up.

Rest

As there should always be someone to take care of the day before, the members will take turns to rest.
During the breaks, the astronauts talk to each other on various topics that allow them to change their minds.
As activities are not tied to the day / night rhythm of the earth, work, rest and personal times are preset to keep the internal clock running smoothly.


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